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Shooting your buddy's bow

I was interested in someone's comment in a different thread that he knows of people using their buddy's equipment with sights, release, etc., just to qualify and get their archery certification AK.

Anyone else have the same problem as me: While shooting at the range with my buddies, we now-and-then get new bows and have to shoot each other's bow to see how if feels. After it is set up and my partner is drilling "X"s each shot, I take the same bow and shoot consistently off. It sure is not like gun sights, that's for sure. We can shoot our own equipment accurately, but that accuracy is not transferrable (at least in my experience) to another shooter.

I know that anchor pt has a lot to do with the end result and presume that's the biggest difference (even when the peep, sight, and sight housing are lined up). Weird, huh?

So many variables

There are tons of things different that can effect this. Every single person needs to set there bow up for them selves. I've seen countless newbies ask there buddy to sight there bow in cause they can't get good enough groups to really tell were it's shootong. Even the pressure your putting on the grip at release changes arrow flight a bit, anchor point, etc. Also not everyone sights there bow in to were the pin is directly over the desired point of impact. some people like it to be just to the right so it doesn't cover up what you want to hit. I get such a kick out of guys sayin hey i'm gona barrow so an so's bow to go shoot a caribou or qualify...

your buddy's bow

your buddy has to understand that you are going to change his sighting, at a minimum if you were to use his bow to qualify.

I qualified with a bow that i purchased off craigslist three days prior to the class.
the draw was too long, the pull was heavy+70 and i used the old target arrows that came with it.
In two days i put at least 300 arrows through that bow, shooting roughly 4 hours a day with a break then 2 more hours in the evening practicing.

I qualified, but didnt get my 2 kills untill the fourth target of five. I sweated that day,, and i was one sore sumbisket! Now the bow is all set up and it is one fine piece,(thanks to scott at bear paw archery for all his help, and advice).

i pick my buddies bow up and consistently shoot 4 inches left and two down.
the neighbors bow, 2 inches down 6 inches left.

Thoughts...

As bowhunters, we undertake an oath to be ethical. As such, I disagee with the idea of just using somebody else's bow "just to get qualified." By doing that, if falls well short of what I believe to be an ethical practice.

To me, being ethical means getting the best equipment you can accurately shoot, in order to minimize the chances of making a bad kill. This also mean you are practice at whatever frequency in order to ensure a well placed arrows.

There are plenty of people out there that disagree with bowhunting. The images/news stories of a moose running around Anchorage with an arrow sticking out of it, are still fresh in people's mind, though it has been a few years.

When I looked into bowhunting in Sept 2007, I told my Dad about it. I got an earfull of negative remarks about it. After a number of conversations, and outlining my approach which was take the class, buy the bow, practice and finally get qualified, he is now okay with me bowhunting. I bought the bow in March 2008, and got qualified August 2008 on the first try. I didn't get to take a shot this fall/winter, but he is still eager to hear about bow hunting.